Wrapping machine safety mechanism



Dec. 18, 1945. T. JENSEN WRAPPING MACHINE SAFETY MECHANISM Original Filed June 5, 1941 \\\\L N\ E INVENTOR Thor-mod Jzensen ATTORNEY v Patented Dec. 18, 1945 This invention rela'tes'to wrapping machines and more particularly'to bread'wrapping mal chins and safety adjuncts'therefor designed to prevent damage to several parts thereof because of the presence of over-sized or improperly posi-' tioned articles, such as loaves of bread, which may'notbe located properly with respect'to elements'of the machine-ioperatingto feed and 'fold wrappers about theloaf." v

This invention constitutes a division of. copending application, Serial No. 396,713, filed June 5,1941, for Wrapping machine safety mechanisms, now Patent No. 2504,0518, granted December 1, 1942;

"*I have found that occasionally articles, such as loaves of bread being introduced into wrapping f'machinesare improperly arranged on the inieed conveyor with respect to the lugs engaginggthem for travel'to theposition where they are advanced to the wrapping mechanism; This means that whenever a stop plate is used for locating loaves "ofbread moving into the machinefor transfer towrapping mechanism, the lugs which support the infeed flights are aptto be bent orbroken because of the pressure exerted by damaged loaves pressing against the infeed lugs or conveyor flights f It is a further objectof my invention, therefore, to provide means such as a safety stop plate which can yield upwardly out'of the path of the conveyor lugs'in the event that there are improperly positioned] articles, such as loaves of bread, either sliced or unsliced on the conveyor, and in this manner prevent breakage of the lugs or flights and loss in time in machine operation. If desired; this plate can be adjustably mounted in order to adapt it tor cooperation with any size loaf. My invention also consists in the provision of a pivctally mounted adjustable loaf stop plate I coacting with the infeed mechanism of a wrapping machine, and more particularly a bread wrapping machine for locating a loaf relative to the wrapping mechanism, which plate can yield vertically upward in the event that some unsatisfactory condition exists between the loaves' of bread being fed and the infeed conveyor. This arrangement allows the entire loaf to be moved out of the machine on continued forward motion of the conveyor without the necessity of stopping the machine to back up the conveyor manually with a concurrent loss of time and labor.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain combinations and constructions which will be hereinafter fully described,'andthenset forth in the claims hereuntoappended:

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification, and inwhich'lik'e characters of referenceindicate the same or liiie p l Figure 1 is a partial plan view of a Wrappmg machine showing "the improved safety device; i

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken on line +2'of, F rel 4 Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken on line 3- 3of.'Figure 2;

'Figurel is a sectional elevation similar to Figa ure 3 butshowing the pivoted safety loaf stop as it anism;

i would operate if an improperly arranged "article, such as a part of a sliced loaf has passed beyond the point of introduction into thewrapping mech- Figure -5is a rear elevational view'of' my'improved pivoted safety loaf stopplate; Figure 6 is a partial end elevation of the safety stop plate shown in='Figure 5; and Figure '7 afview similar to Figure 6 showing the pivoted loaf stop plate 7, in raised position in order to allow an articleto be moved therebeneath without damage to the machine; r Referring to the drawing whichshow's apre- "ferried form of my invention, Figures 1, 2 and 3 disclose'mechanis'mior handling and wrapping articles, such as'sliicedloaves of bread L, which are'advanced into the machine and; positioned against a stop plate l4 in the path of 'a reciprocatory plunger'25 fortransfer during adwell' in the intermittent movement of conveyor'li! onto a lifter table l2 'of the wrappingmachinel Conveyor l0 is-provided with a plurality of sets'of spaced flights or lugs-32 (Figures '3 andi) between which loaves of bread are fedeither' manually or automatically by suitable means (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment sliced loaves are fed between the lugs 32 from a suitable slicing machine (not shown) The lugs 32 are so spaced on their respective supporting chains that loaves can be readily introduced therebetween and advanced into the wrapping machine.

In Figure 3 a sliced loaf of bread L properly arranged with respect to infeed conveyor flights 32 Loaf L the next loaf to be handled, is shown impoint where its leading end should engage the stop plate M to locate it for movement onto lifter tab-1e I2, the misplaced slices will press against loaf stop I4 to cause it to swing vertically (Figure 4) and thereby allow the separated slices to be moved forward without breaking either the plate M or leading lug 32 or both. This action also prevents a machine jam because of the safety construction of the loaf stop. It will be seen, therefore that the misplaced slicesof loaf L will be ejected easily from the machine as a result of its continued movement and manual backing on the machine is eliminated. If desired, the main portion of loaf L can be removed prior to wrapping or it can be wrapped and later discarded as a cripple without causing stoppage of the machine or breakage'of any part of the conveyor.

As illustrated in Figures 7, 8 and 9, plate l4 may be provided with two hinged lugs l6 attached by screws I8 and mounted to swing on trunnions 20 of a T-shaped bracket 22. An elongated slot 24 formed in bracket 22 permits bracket 22 to be adjustably secured to a stationary member 25 depending from the frame of the machine and fastened thereto in any suitable manner. Slot 24 is formed of a length sufficient to allow the adjustment of the loaf stop l4 laterally of the machine to suit various lengths and types of products. in slots 3|] formed in trunnions 20 and the other end bearing against plate l4, provide suitable yielding resistance against deflection of the plate l4 upward under ordinary conditions but will yield and permit the plate to swing away (Figures 4 and 9) whenever any obstruction which might damage the machine occurs.

As shown in Figure '7, plate I4 is shaped to allow passage of flights or lugs 32 of conveyor [0, but the size of the slices of a loaf is such that if they extend beyond the limits of the passage opening in plate l4 they can force the plate to swing vertically out of the way whenever a condition such as shown in Figure 4 exists. A stop plate 34 secured to bracket 22 by bolts 33 maintains plate [4 normally in a vertical position. I

It will be seen by referring to Figures 1 and 2 that when a loaf has been properly positioned against the yielding stop plate I, plunger 25 operated by conventional means (not shown), moves it onto lifter table l2 out of the path of lugs 32 of conveyor In. In its travel from feed conveyor it! onto lifter table l2, loaf L (Figure 2) engages a wrapper web W which is draped in its path and the wrapping proceeds in a manner similar to that set forth in Armstrong Patent No. 1,668,854, granted February 28, 1928.

The invention above described may be varied Springs 28, eachhaving one end secured in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device, selected to illustrate the invention, is but one of many possible concrete embodiments of the same. It is not, therefore, to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. Infeed mechanism for a wrapping machine comprising an intermittently moving conveyor, a plurality of sets of spaced article engaging lugs carried by and extending upwardly from said conveyor, said lugs having a cross sectional area less than articles engaged and advanced thereby, a pusher movably transverse of said conveyor between said lugs to eject articles from between said lugs, a stop plate provided with an opening through which said lugs pass, said stop plate being constructed and arranged to engage each leading end of an article after the lug engaging said leading end of said article passes into said opening to limit the forward movement of said article and guide said article during its ejection from between said lugs, means for pivotally mounting said plate for upward swinging movement whenever an article is so improperly arranged relative to said lugs on said conveyor as to obstruct the movement of the leading lug of the set into said opening, and means for yieldingly urging said plate towards articles advanced by said. conveyor into article stopping position.

2. Infeed mechanism for a wrapping machine comprising an intermittently moving conveyor, a plurality of sets of spaced article engaging lugs carried by and extending upwardly from said conveyor, said lugs having a cross sectional area less than that of the articles advanced by said conveyor, a lifter table, a pusher movable transversely of said conveyor between said sets of lugs to eject articles from between said lugs onto said lifter table, a stop plate provided with an opening through which said lugspass, said stop plate being constructed and arranged to engage each leading end of an article after the lug engaging said leading end passes into said opening to limit the forward movement of an article located between said lugs and guide said article during its ejection by said pusher onto said lifter table, means for pivotally mounting said plate for upward swinging movement out of the path of travel of said lugs whenever an article is so improperly arranged on said conveyor as to obstruct the I movement of the leading lug of a set of lugs into said opening, means for yieldingly urging said plate towards articles advanced by said conveyor into article stopping position, and devices for adjusting said plate lengthwise of said conveyor.

THORMOD JENSEN. 

